Aftermarket Exhaust Systems: The Solution to Your Performance Gripes
Contents
An internal combustion engine is at the core of many vehicles on the road nowadays. However, no matter how widespread they are, they still pollute the environment. Despite emissions regulations getting stricter by the year, ICE vehicles still produce 3 harmful gases — nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide and nitrogen monoxide.
For these gases not to be expelled into the atmosphere as much, cars come with an exhaust system. Exhausts come with filters that help reduce emissions, and by routing the gases through a set of piping, they are less harmful once they exit the vehicle. Exhausts also help reduce noise levels and improve performance figures, that is, if they’re made with the latter in mind.
What Matters in a Performance Exhaust
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Diameter
It’s all about how much of the fumes, produced by the engine, the exhaust can carry through and out of the system and the diameter of the piping affects this quite a bit. A capable performance exhaust can get more of the gases from the engine and out of the tailpipe at once. However, make sure to go for a system that offers an inch of diameter for every 100 HP your vehicle makes to avoid any performance issues.
Bends
There might be two types of bends an exhaust system can have, however, a performance system should only have one type of bend, and those are mandrel bends. A mandrel-bent performance exhaust is smooth throughout, and it retains the same diameter no matter how intricate the bends get. This improves airflow and thus performance.
Material
While there is a wide range of different materials used to manufacture exhausts, when it comes to a performance exhaust system, there are only three. These are stainless steel, titanium and Inconel.
- Stainless steel exhausts are the most cost-effective since they are extremely strong and corrosion-resistant while being able to manage varying temperatures.
- Titanium models are a lighter solution than stainless steel ones and also offer better corrosion resistance and heat management.
- Inconel options are the strongest, most corrosion-resistant and best at handling high temperatures, however, they are difficult to find as they are used in F1 and the aerospace industry.
Thickness
The thickness of the material the exhaust is made of also makes a difference in how durable and impact-resistant it is. Thicker exhausts can handle heavier impacts better and they also help reduce annoying frequencies in the form of exhaust drone better than thinner systems.
Downpipe
The downpipe is the pipe that connects the header(s) to the rest of the exhaust, and it needs to follow the rest of the system. It should have the same diameter and it should also have mandrel bends. Some people decide to put a header wrap on the downpipe too and not just the headers, which helps make the whole system more efficient.
Midpipe
Another section of piping that heavily affects the performance of your exhaust is the midpipe. This is part of the system that intertwines different exhaust pipes into one before it separates them again. Its role is to even out the pressure in the exhaust, and for the most seamless results, an X-pipe configuration is what you should go for.
Types of Performance Exhaust Systems
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Turbo-Back
One of the most performance-oriented exhaust systems you could get is a turbo-back system as it replaces not only the exhaust, but the turbocharger too. This way, you get the benefit of forced induction or more boost, depending on the type of engine you have, alongside better airflow.
Header-Back
With a header-back exhaust, you simply replace the whole system with an aftermarket one that spans from the header(s) to the tailpipe, hence the name. This is a more cost-effective solution than a turbo-back performance exhaust system which also takes much longer to install and an ECU tune to make it work properly. This is not the case with a header-back performance exhaust for sale.
Cat-Back
The most affordable of the three is a cat-back exhaust, but it’s also the least performance-oriented. While you do get a bump in performance, it’s mostly notable at peak RPM. However, cat-back systems are the easiest to install and can still improve the exhaust note.
Why Go Aftermarket?
Price
Despite being a performance exhaust system, being an aftermarket one, it can still cost a lot less than an OEM solution. You can also find aftermarket performance systems that cost the same as OEM ones but offer much better performance.
Availability
With aftermarket performance exhausts, you spend less time searching for the right one, as most shops have what you need already made. Unless you’re going for a custom exhaust and want the best of the best in terms of materials and craftsmanship, you won’t have to look too much to find what you need.
Options
What also helps with your search for the right performance exhaust for sale is the number of options you get to choose from. You can combine different components or just go for an off-the-shelf one.
